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Is InDesign Difficult To Learn?
Adobe’s tech has long had a fearsome reputation for being much too difficult for the ordinary user to understand on their own. However, while it is clear that technical applications such as Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator were not designed to be “user-friendly,” this does not mean that these systems should be reserved only for professional designers.
Adobe Creative Cloud has significantly reduced the cost of Adobe applications. Previously, each software will cost £100s, but now only a monthly fee is needed. This ensures that incorporating Creative Cloud into your budget and gaining access to this extremely powerful software is easy. Furthermore, once you or the team understand how to use the app, you will reduce the expense of design even further.
Adobe software applications do not necessitate years of rigorous university training in order for users to be able to produce images and documents to a technical level (though this is not to say that practice does not matter with these applications – it most emphatically does). They do, though, necessitate a certain amount of time and effort to prepare, which would not be completely open.
Overcoming ‘The Fear’ of Adobe Software
Since Adobe software was not developed to be especially intuitive to first-time users of the different products, there is some resistance among non-professionals to go to the additional effort of learning how to use them. In today’s real world, this is understandable. We have grown accustomed to expecting anything we use (especially online) to be clear and easy. In essence, we need our hands to be kept throughout the whole artistic process, with perhaps the most difficult job being to drag and drop a few pre-created graphics into position on a pre-designed blueprint. Adobe applications do not operate in this manner. The goods on offer would enable users to learn how to create graphics and pictures from scratch – which can be intimidating for those who have never attempted design before. However, it should not be ignored or missed that Adobe software products are so complex. In reality, labelling them as ‘complicated’ does them a disservice. It is not that they are complex – it is just that they are tall.
InDesign, for example, is a massive programme that is extremely powerful and capable of realising almost any concept that can be imagined. And this strength and capability are created by learning how to use the software’s vast toolbox, which is, in fact, the only thing separating a layman’s success or failure with the app.
Adobe’s InDesign is unquestionably the best app used for print design. And, considering the ‘fearful stigma’ that accompanies Adobe products, the fact is that learning them is not all that difficult.
If you are still familiar with other Adobe apps, such as Photoshop or Illustrator, adding InDesign to your CV would be a piece of cake (or should that be a doodle).
If you have mastered the fundamentals of Adobe InDesign, you can quickly extend your experience to include digital elements in your PDF documents. InDesign has simple tools that enable you to build online links, email links, integrate video, and include user submit-able forms. InDesign has recently been updated to add several fantastic features that enable it to publish content suitable for tablet devices, allowing you to produce alternate formats for iPads and long flowing book documents that can be exported for Kindle use.
But, even though you are totally new to the world of Adobe, as long as you are proficient at using a mouse and a keyboard, it will not be long until you have learned new uses for these trusty instruments that will have you creating some of the highest quality print documents in no time. With a little effort, time, and focus (and just a little of each, we would like to emphasise), it will not take long until you have learned new uses for these trusty instruments that will help you create fantastic designs. In the UK, you can learn graphic design and InDesign online with Blue Sky Graphics. Perhaps further, this ensures that, when possible, you can stop paying for professional design by doing it yourself.
Three Ways Learning InDesign Will Help You Save Money
InDesign has traditionally been the go-to medium for creating print documents such as leaflets, banners, brochures, newsletters, and books. However, with the emergence of multimedia and e-publishing, InDesign is now primarily being used in combination with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite to publish material for e-readers and tablet computers. However, regardless of what you want to write, learning InDesign for yourself will undoubtedly save you money in the long run. And we have mentioned the top three reasons why below.
1. Designer Fees
Hiring a designer any time you have a new publication going to print would cost you more than £50 per hour – and that is before you take in printing expenses. As long as you hire a specialist designer, you will be carrying on those costs to your clients, which means you will struggle to remain competitive in an extremely crowded marketplace. Learning InDesign is particularly beneficial for small companies and startups that may lack the funds for technical design ventures.
2. Increased Productivity
It is well acknowledged in design circles that it is often difficult for the user to express their suggestions to the designer successfully. This results in mediation sessions, for which you would, of course, be paid. Understanding how to use InDesign will not only allow you to manage certain tasks on your own, but it will also help you while speaking with designers. This will save you money in the long run and, even though you hire a designer to produce print and eBook templates, you will have a much better understanding of the process of what is possible and what is not. Of course, you will still have the expertise to build projects yourself, which means you can either go without the designer altogether or plan reports to send to the designer to reduce the amount of work they have to do. In this case, you will be able to reduce costs while increasing efficiency significantly. This can be accomplished by improved teamwork or simply by doing it yourself.
3. Developing Your Self-Sufficiency as an E-Publisher
If you do not want to include any real written content for physical sale or other dissemination, you can eliminate one of the most expensive and time-consuming overheads by learning how to create your own electronic publications.
Indeed, the money you will spend in learning how to use Adobe’s InDesign will be offset in a matter of weeks or months by the money you will save by hiring a skilled designer each time you are about to print.
The better your ability to be self-sufficient in the company, the greater the value to your bottom line. Learning how to use InDesign before embarking on such an endeavour would significantly reduce the risk of the venture, making it easier for you to draw partners or obtain financing from a bank or an alternate funding provider.
